It is unacceptable for the ABC to host a person like Piers Akerman who openly and defiantly defamed Tim Mathieson and debases our ABC. Your network has been sullied and your reputation smeared. This is below all and any community standards and expectations of the public broadcaster.

You need to stop engaging in this sort of behaviour and start pre-recording known offenders of public standards or ban them altogether.

There are numerous examples beyond this one where sexist, racist, defamatory comments has been allowed to be broadcast unchallenged.

This has to stop now.

You owe a legal and moral obligation to your audience to uphold community standards. It is not good enough or acceptable any more to be just the messenger of sexist, racist, defamatory comment.

You are the public broadcaster and the community looks to you for moral leadership. If you repeat these claims unchallenged as opinion or news, you are condoning them.

You are in control of your own editorial standards. Apply them rigorously without fear or favour.

Do not under any circumstance broadcast lies, innuendo, rumour, gossip, sexist, racist, defamatory comment without context and without challenge.

Always challenge, do not quote blindly.

At the very minimum, Mr Mathieson deserves an unreserved apology from you.

Mr Akerman should be suspended from appearing on the ABC until he can behave like a mature adult in polite society.

Please take action now and respond to me, to Mr Mathieson, to your audience and to the Australian community at large.

Comments

If Akerman was the man I have always known him not to be, he would have had the intelligence to understand the inappropriateness of his allusions but it is clear from the article he’s written in his defence that he is what I have always known him to be; an ignorant, arrogant, rude, nasty, puffed-up windbag.

Like the casual racism that was identified with the Adams/ape affair, it is clear from the events of the past couple of weeks, casual misogyny in Australia is rampant and in the current political and media climate, has become a perfectly acceptable attitude to publicly voice. Gems like “Ditch the Witch” and more recently the “slit her throat” comments are but the tip of the very large iceberg of misogyny that sits underneath the Australian social and political scene.

In their desperation to regain power, the Opposition have instigated and perpetuated this denigration of Julia Gillard as a political weapon. Not content with merely criticising the political focus and policies of the ALP, they have heaped an avalanche of hatred and hateful commentary on her personally and as a woman.

This has been in no small way due to the mainstream media, particular the infamous Murdoch press, who have not only allowed the LNP to gain ground with this tactic, but have actually participated in it. No other political figure has been subjected to the level of personal sexist vitriol that has been aimed squarely and continually at Julia Gillard.

Criticism of ALP policy is perfectly acceptable and indeed welcomed as the basis of a healthy democracy. Hateful name calling, intrusive and rude inquiries and innuendo is into the intimate and personal aspects of the PM and her partner’s life is absolutely NOT acceptable! And those who see nothing wrong – they are the problem.

Obviously Australia is still a “blokes” domain and we know now what happens when a “shelia” tries to rise above her station.

The only way this is going to stop is if we as a society, adopt a zero tolerance to these attitudes and behaviour.

There seems to be quite a bit of confected outrage here. Firstly, Ackerman is indeed correct when he says that rumours had been circulating around the press gallery and in online blogs for quite some time. There are a number of articles going back to 2010 mentioning this exact question, anybody with access to the internet can easily confirm this. Secondly and lastly, why is it such an insult to ask the question anyway? The “progessives” keep telling us just how mainstream homosexuality is, why did the PM react in such an offensive manner to homosexuals using terms such as absurd, silly and ridiculous? It was a shameful day when I realised that our Prime Minister was a homophobe.

Well Milton R, there is a rumour going around that a prominent member of the opposition’s wife is a lesbian. Where did I hear it? Why, I made it up right here. Therefore, once this rumour gains traction, will that give the right to anyone to challenge that prominent member of the opposition’s wife’s sexuality? Of course in your world it won’t and in my world neither can the Prime Minister’s partner have his sexuality questioned as in both cases, they are based on innuendo and rumour and are slanderous and cowardly as such. And those blogs that you refer to that the bloated toad mentioned are themselves based on innuendo and rumour which I will suggest have had their genesis just like the one I mention here. Get your mind out of the gutter, Milton.

PS I apologise in advance to any prominent member of the opposition who thinks that I have slandered them, As far as I am aware no such event or relationship exists.

OMG! Is that what the 4th Estate in Australia do to make the News cycle work? *faux horreur* I am absolutely gob smacked! How could the Law ever allow this? *confected outrage!* There should be a Law against lies being told like this in the Media! *wishful thinking*

Grumpy Old Sod, why the outrage now though and none of the outrage then? We are also told constantly how we need to move with the times from those of the left that homosexuality is so commonplace and accepted, the question should have been water off a ducks back to somebody as “progressive” as Gillard. Wasn’t it just a little off-putting to see the Prime Minister react the way she did and use the language she did? I thought referring to homosexuality as absurd, silly or ridiculous constituted offensive remarks or is that too being selectively applied?

Milton R, the PM was not referring to homosexuality as being absurd, silly or ridiculous. In fact I find your ludicrous suggestion, that she did, absurd, silly & ridiculous. When she said these words, & you very well know it, it was in answer to the moronic& fatuous question which was disrespectfully hurled at her. This lack of respect is appalling. No one would ask Abbott if his wife was a lesbian because she has “short hair & all lesbians wear their short as everyone knows & we hear these things all the time”. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

The manner in which you have twisted this to suit your narrative is breathtaking in the extreme. BTW FYI many journalists in the NPG claim to have never heard these alleged rumours.

I really can’t remember anyone asking John H this question regarding his wife? I read Wayne Swan’s piece last week re the economy and journalists – very sound – and all the replies were about menus,Tim etc.etc. Just rubbish. This country really needs to get its act together regarding politics. The only response the LNP have got to a well performing economy and Govt. is the gutter. Ans unfortunately it is working a treat. ALL OF US need to get our acts together. NEVER fall for Murdochracy.

GregC, no one would have the fortitude to survive going up against the power that is John H’s wife. She’s a very deadly Viper herself, as anyone who has got on the wrong side of her can attest. BTW, I am not being sexist in that in anyway, as anyone can be a deadly Viper. :{D